Growing Songwriting is a groundbreaking book on the pedagogy of songwriting that starts with the essential question: How do I begin to write songs myself and with my students? In this book, Randles suggests that we start with cover songs, then explore the middle ground of remixes and sampling, and finally, jump into the world of lyric writing and the musical world of original songs. A growing metaphor also features throughout: lesson ""seeds"" are presented along with ""water"" in the form of stories of how people have written songs in the past and ""sunlight"" in the shape of ideas for continuation and inspiration. It is all about growing! In this book, you will be inspired by stories of how riffs were created, how lines were penned, and how songwriters capture their ideas in journals. Original music making is part inspiration and mostly hard work. This book gives you a window into the world of craft that surrounds the working lives of professional songwriters and pulls you into that world in small manageable steps. In looking to the metaphor of nature for pedagogical answers--answers that may very well usher in the most profound curricular growth period in the history of music education--Growing Songwriting aims to sow the seeds of songwriting in your life so that it can also flourish in the lives of your students.
Acknowledgements Prologue INTRO Chapter 1-An Orientation to Growing Songwriting - WATER: When Inspiration Comes It's About Growing - SUNLIGHT: Finding Your Sound in the Sound of Others - SUNLIGHT: The Power of Being Vulnerable - SUNLIGHT: What Makes Gardening So Rewarding? Being and Becoming a Master Gardener The Health of Your Plants (Students) is Priority One - WATER: Stevie Wonder's Baby Ruth Candy Bars Skill-Building: Part of Your Focus WATER: Ben Gibbard Treats Songwriting Like ""Going to Work"" - A Process - WATER: 10 Tips on Songwriting from Bob Dylan - SUNLIGHT: Five-Minute Thinking Discovering Grooves: Opening the Door to their Creativities - WATER: The Decline of Improvisation in Classical Music - SUNLIGHT: Improvisation Can Change Who You Are Finding Harmonic Progressions - WATER: ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" - SUNLIGHT: Thinking of Your Own Chord Progression Discovering Melodies Chord-based melodies. Scale-based melodies. - Monotone melodies. - In Practice - WATER: Paul McCartney and ""Yesterday"" - SUNLIGHT: 9 Tips for Writing Melodies Writing Lyrics - WATER: Asbury Park, N.J. - SUNLIGHT: Tips for Writing Better Lyrics - Object Writing - Song Maps The Addiction Formula Lessons From Jeff Tweedy Sweden and Popular Music: A Model for Your Classroom - Global Circulation of Music - Favorable Reputation - A Global-Local Hybrid A Few More Big Ideas Before Getting Started - Keep a Journal - Study the Mechanics - Get Help from People Who are Smarter Than You - Keep Trying to Figure Out ""Why?"" Resources Worth Exploring PART I-COVERING SONGS Chapter 2-Borrowing from Our Heroes It All Starts with the Music We Love - WATER: Elvis Presley's Musical Influences - SUNLIGHT: Daily Listening Guiding Principles 1. Let them choose their songs most of the time. - SUNLIGHT: The Power of Choice 2. Try to understand the genres, styles, and artists that make up your students' musical universe. - WATER: Kendrick Lamar's Musical Universe 3. Know that your students' songwriting style will in many ways begin with their musical heroes. - SUNLIGHT: Make a List 4. As they find their niche and as you begin to understand where they come from musically, expose them to artists and sounds that might have inspired their style. - WATER: It Might Get Loud 5. Help them find keys for the songs that fit their vocal range. - SUNLIGHT: Vocal Range 6. Help them discover better ways to perform the chords and riffs that are required of particular songs. - WATER: Unique Ways of Playing 7. Help them in any way that you can realize their vision for their cover songs. - SUNLIGHT: Five Tips for Making a Song Your Own 8. Be prepared to play any parts that are missing to help them realize their vision for the arrangement of a song. - WATER: Performing Along with Your Students 9. Think about what your students' emerging style based on their musical interests might mean for the community that you serve. - SUNLIGHT: Community Music 10. In what ways can you celebrate and use their heroes to teach the rest of the class something of value. - WATER: The Musical Influences of Michael Jackson Benefits from Learning Cover Songs 1. Cover songs help you test yourself. 2. You get to learn other styles. 3. You get to learn YOUR style. 4. You get to generate more listenership. 5. You get to work more with others. 6. Cover songs help you get gigs! A Process for Covering Songs 1. Learn the Song Correctly 2. Respect the Original Artist 3. Learn the Lyrics 4. Watch Live Performances 5. Practice with a Metronome 6. Practice a Lot 7. Record Yourself 8. Make It Your Own 9. Use Transpositions 10. Play It Like It's the First Time Every Time Writing Your Best Music Starts with Covering the Music That You Love Resources Worth Exploring SEEDS FOR COVER SONG LESSONS Chapter 3-Beginner A Song That Makes You Happy - SUNLIGHT: Some of the Happiest Songs Ever Made - WATER: ""Summertime"": The Most Covered Song of All Time Songs About Being Sad - SUNLIGHT: Some of the Saddest Songs Ever Written - WATER: The Story of ""Everybody Hurts"" Chapter 4-Intermediate Work Up Your Favorite Song - SUNLIGHT: Your Favorite Artist's Favorite Songs - WATER: ""Seven Nation Army"" Songs That Drive Us Crazy - SUNLIGHT: Ear Worms - WATER: ""My Humps"" Chapter 5-Advanced Take The Song in Another Direction - SUNLIGHT: Best Cover Songs of All Time - WATER: Johnny Cash and ""Hurt"" Making a Mash-Up of at Least Two Songs - SUNLIGHT: Thinking About Theme and Structure - WATER: The Beatles Cirque Du Soleil Show PART II-THE MIDDLE GROUND Chapter 6-The Space Between - WATER: Dave Matthews Band - WATER: Michael Jackson's First Solo Album Middle Ground Thinking - Advice for Master Gardeners - Skill-Building Still Central to Daily Practice - Making the Turn - SUNLIGHT: Wisdom for Growing: Five Chinese Proverbs - SUNLIGHT: Advice About Staying Alert on Long Car Rides Do Your Homework - Practice What You Preach - Consult The Sourcebooks - Keep a Journal and Save Student Work Their Best Work is Just Around the Corner Other Ways to Think about the Middle Ground - WATER: Daniel Kim - SUNLIGHT: The Best Remixes of All Time Technology in the Middle Ground - Stems - DJ Hardware/Software - WATER: Artist ""Kittens"" and her Gear - SUNLIGHT: A Step-by-step Introduction to Digital DJing - Hip Hop and Sampling - WATER: Paul's Boutique Middle Ground Workgroups 1. Song(s) Choice 2a. Groove Production 3a. Listeners' Feedback 4. Recording Musicians 3b. Listeners' Feedback 5. Production/Engineering 3c. Listeners' Feedback 6. Performers 3d. Listeners' Feedback Resources Worth Exploring SEEDS FOR MIDDLE GROUND LESSONS Chapter 7-Beginner Your First Remix - WATER: The Story of Sickick's Remix of Madonna's ""Frozen"" - SUNLIGHT: New Skills to Practice Chapter 8-Intermediate Doing Some Sampling - WATER: A Lesson from Kanye West - SUNLIGHT: Most Iconic Samples of All Time Chapter 9-Advanced Next Level Thievery - WATER: The Weekend's ""Out of Time"" Sampled a Popular Japanese Song - SUNLIGHT: You Can Change the Key and Tempo of Samples PART III-SONGWRITING Chapter 10-Developing an Artist Voice - WATER: Rick Rubin - SUNLIGHT: Plans and Happy Accidents Songwriting Journals are Essential - WATER: Eddie Vedder's Notebooks Lyrical Beginnings - Object Writing - Nouns and Verbs Ladders Musical Beginnings Melody - WATER: Elton John and Bernie Taupin - Chord Progressions - SUNLIGHT: ""Musician on a Mission""-New Zealand - Riffs and Tracks - Tonal Cues Developmental Techniques - Musical Flow - Contrast - Suspense - Points of reference - Climax Organization: Song Maps - Tension/Response - Problem/Declaration - Timezones - Places - Roles - Twist - Literal/Figural Using a DAW During the Creative Process - Flow Chart for Writing a Song Using a DAW - Old Thinking and New Technology - SUNLIGHT: Song Exploder Songwriting Workgroups - WATER: Motown 1. Idea Generation - SUNLIGHT: Suspend Judgement 2a. Lyric Writing 2b. Music Writing - WATER: Cheiron Studios 3a. Listeners' Feedback - SUNLIGHT: John Kratus 4. Recordings - WATER: The Engineers of Abbey Road Studios 3b. Listeners' Feedback - WATER: Dr. Dre's Musical Magicians 5. Production/Engineering 3c. Listeners' Feedback 6. Performers 3d. Listeners' Feedback Resources Worth Exploring SEEDS FOR SONGWRITING LESSONS Chapter 11-Beginner Object Writing as a Place to Start - WATER: Red Hot Mojo Rising - SUNLIGHT: The Power of Collaboration Start With Word Ladders: Nouns and Verbs - WATER: ""It's Tricky"" - SUNLIGHT: Beatles Tips for Mixing Things Up Start With a Riff - WATER: ""Walk This Way"" - SUNLIGHT: Most Memorable Riffs of All Time Chapter 12-Intermediate Using ""Song Maps"" - WATER: Keep It Simple - SUNLIGHT: Following a Recipe A Song in the Style of Reggae - WATER: Bob Marley's Inspiration for ""Three Little Birds"" - SUNLIGHT: Chronicling the Best Reggae Songs of All Time Stealing Words from a Book - WATER: Nas and Wordsmithing - SUNLIGHT: Rhyming Dictionary Bliss Chapter 13-Advanced Don't Be Yourself - WATER: Becoming Ziggy Stardust - SUNLIGHT: Seeing Through Other People's Eyes Experimental Rhymes - WATER: Approaching 8-Mile - SUNLIGHT: Dreaming and Scheming Cut-Up Technique(s) - WATER: John Lennon's Practice: ""You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"" - SUNLIGHT: Cut-Up Technique in Literature OUTRO Chapter 14-A Whole New World of Original Songs - SUNLIGHT: Viktor Frankel and Living a Meaningful Life - WATER: Stevie Wonder and Spirituality - WATER: U2 and Longevity Finding Your Way - Tech or No Tech - A Lowell Mason Spirit - Baseline Musicianship - SUNSHINE: George Washington Carver's Focus on Science and The Arts - The Power of Collaboration - WATER: Linkin Park and Jay-Z - SUNLIGHT: About Chemical Reactions - WATER: The Motor City Five (MC5) - SUNLIGHT: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and a Love of Plants Study the Systems: An Automobile Analogy - Drive Train - Fuel System - Ignition System - Electrical System Cooling System - Braking System - Suspension System - Steering System Master Gardener Similitude Focusing on Healthy Plants Skill-Building: Spend Your Time Wisely - Discovering Grooves - Finding Harmonic Progressions - Discovering Melodies - Writing Lyrics Final Words Resources Worth Exploring Index
Clint Randles is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of South Florida, where he teaches courses at the intersection of contemporary musicianship, creativity, philosophy, and popular music. His work centers on the development of innovative curricular practice. He enjoys performing on guitar and singing as a part of his role as Director of Contemporary Worship at a church in Tampa.
